Provided herein are bone conduction hearing devices having a specially configured mechanism for securing the device to the side of the head.
Bone conduction hearing devices are a significant and important market in the field of hearing devices or hearing aids. There are five major types of bone conduction devices, including: (1) External bone conduction devices where a vibrator is held to the side of the head by a band that traverses around the head (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,822,215); (2) Bone anchored hearing devices where a screw is placed through the skin into the skull and a vibrator transducer is hung to the side of the screw (see, e.g., BAHA® hearing aid by Cochlear Corp.); (3) Magnetic bone conduction hearing implants, where magnets are implanted and attached to the skull and externally positioned magnets provide a normal force to the side of the head to hold the vibrator to the head (e.g., PCT Pub. WO2010/105601); (4) Teeth vibrators where the vibrator is attached to a tooth or a dental implant (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,303); (5) Active implantable bone conduction devices, where a transducer is implanted under the skin to vibrate the skull (e.g., SoundBridge®, Vibrant Med-El Hearing Technology; Carina®, Otologics).
For external bone conduction hearing devices, an important aspect is ensuring the external component is secured to the side of the head without adverse biological effects. For example, Raicevich et al. The Australian and New Zealand J. of Aud. 30(2):113-113 (2008) states, “long-term use of headband-worn bone vibrators has been associated with skin ulceration and, in severe cases, physical depression at the point of contact.” Various studies report skin reactions around an abutment and grade them according to the Holgers classification system (Holgers et al. American J. of Otology 9(1):56-59 (1988)) which ranges from skin irritation and erythema to an overt infection causing implant extrusion (McDermott et al. 2009; van de Bert et al. 2010; de Wolf et al. 2008; Wazen et al. 2008; Priwan and Granstrom 2005; Badran et al. 2009; de Wolf et al. 2009; Faber et al. 2009) and can include a classification score such as: 0. Reaction free; 1: Slight redness; 2: Red and moist tissue; 3: Granulation tissue; and 4: Infection requiring removal of abutment.
Examples of various systems for securing a device to the user include U.S. Pat. No. 7,822,215 (headband); U.S. Pat. No. 7,809,147 (spectacles); U.S. Pat. Pub. 2009/0290730 (ring-shape holding means); U.S. Pat. Pub. 2007/0071258 (double stick tape). The various devices disclosed in the art, however, have substantial limitations in that they either do not sufficiently and reliably provide adequate force, provide too much force, are obtrusive or uncomfortable, or require implantation with attendant costs and surgical intervention.
Provided herein, are devices that reliably and comfortably apply a normally-directed contact force to the hearing device that forces the device against the skull of the user. The devices avoid problems associated with unreliable force generation, uneven force distribution, or overly obtrusive components, thereby facilitating wearability and durability of the device, including over long periods of use.